Children’s books were a central tool in the Nazi propaganda machine’s wide-ranging distribution of antisemitic material. Publications like this were intended to instruct children on the dangerous influence of Jews, here through stereotyped and grotesque renderings of Jewish adults, professionals, and children.
Julius Streicher, a trained elementary school teacher, founded Der Stürmer (The Stormtrooper), an antisemitic tabloid newspaper, in Nuremberg in 1923. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, Streicher enjoyed official endorsement; copies of Der Stürmer appeared prominently in public, low-hanging outdoor display cases throughout Germany, easily visible to children. One illustration shows children looking at Der Stürmer display cases; the headlines include “How the Jew lies!” and “Against miscegenation.” Der Stürmer portrayed Jews as sexually depraved, physically grotesque, and murderously greedy; this volume, illustrated by popular Der Stürmer cartoonist Philipp Rupprecht and advertised as an ideal Christmas gift, extended this mission to children. In one scene, Jewish children and teachers are taunted by their former classmates and colleagues as they are thrown out of an “Aryanized” school. The book went through seven editions and over 100,000 copies were printed.